Where Are Our Ships Anchored?”


Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – May 1, 2016

Centenary United Methodist Church

Acts 16:9-15; John 14:23-31

 

    Our lesson from John's Gospel describes one of Jesus' last teaching sessions with his disciples.  He made it abundantly clear to his friends where his was permanently anchored while sailing in this life. We are going to consider how Jesus successfully greeted most of the experiences that he encountered.  Listen how Jesus described where he was anchored near the end of his ministry.

I will not be able to talk to you much longer because the ruler of this world is coming.  He has no power over me, but in time, the world will realize that I love the Father with everything that I am.  Because of my love of him, I have chosen to do everything that he has guided me to do. (John 14:31f)

    All of us have this potential, but we cannot bring ourselves to let go of our fascination of dealing quite differently with each experience that comes up for us.  We want to remain an alert and active participant in the current reality show that our experiences are providing.  Our hesitancy to stay with a loving energy that flows away from us is what causes our anchors to drag along the bottom.

    There is a humorous story that describes how Jesus was able to control himself in most circumstances.  In Stephen Covey's book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, he described an encounter of a US Naval ship with the Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October, 1995. 

    The incident took place on a foggy, moonless night when a modest armada of U.S. ships encountered a light dead ahead. Here is the transcript of the communication that took place between the Americans and the Canadians.

    Americans:  "Please divert your course 15 degrees to the north to avoid a collision."

    Canadians:  "Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision"

    Americans: "This is the captain of a US Naval ship.  I say again, divert YOUR course.

    Canadians:  "No, I repeat, No, it is you who must divert YOUR course!

    Americans:  "This is the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States Atlantic Fleet.  We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels.  I demand that you change your course 15 degrees north.  Translated for you people, this means ONE-FIVE degrees north, or counter measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship."

    Canadians:  "With all due respect Captain, you are communicating with a Canadian lighthouse."

    As interesting as this story is, it must be placed under the header of being an urban legend.   It never happened.  However, the story illustrates perfectly how Jesus managed his life by being anchored to his loving energy flow.  This choice resulted in his consciousness becoming immovable and unshakable in spite of the magnitude of any potential threats.

    Jesus said, “The ruler of this world is coming.” How can we understand this?  Who was this ruler of the world?  The identity of this ruler is well known to all of us because its energy approaches us everyday. We are not talking about an evil-being invisibly stalking the planet; we are talking about what evokes our hostile and unhealthy responses to what we find approaching us. 

    Jesus was a student in this life just like the rest of us.  (John 14:28) His responses were not always coming from a lighthouse anchored on rocks.  He experienced pain from this ruler as he was deciding what attitudes and spirit he wanted to model for his followers.

    The senseless beheading of his cousin, John the Baptist, by King Herod, scored a direct hit on his emotions.  Jesus cried when Lazarus died.  The ruler of this world caused Jesus to draw a line in the sand when he had finally had enough.  He overturned the tables of the money-changers, declaring, "My Father's Temple was declared as a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves." (Matthew 21:13)

    Jesus gave into the ruler of this world when he responded with frustration to some of his followers.  He said, “How unbelieving and wrong you people are!  How long must I stay with you?  How long must I put up with you?” (Matt. 17:17)  He often chided his disciples because of their lack of trust and faith. (Matthew 13:31) 

    Like the rest of us, Jesus experienced a learning curve during the earlier days of his ministry.  He recognized how easily we can be seduced by a need to perceive without love when the behavior and attitudes of others do not match our own.   The ruler of this world is anything and everything that causes our inner peace to leave us when our desires and feelings are being ignored by what is happening in our lives.

    In our lesson, Jesus addressed a quality of spirit that everyone on our planet wants and needs.  One of the mysterious, elusive qualities of life is that all of us have the potential to experience peace every day but we have not learned how to remain anchored to it.  Jesus said it this way:

It is my peace that I am leaving with you.  It is my peace that I give to you.  However, my peace has nothing to do with the quality of peace that the world promises.  Never become worried or upset; never become afraid of anything or anyone. (John 14:27)

    Whether we admit it or not, the ruler of this world comes to all of us every day in countless different forms. We quickly forget that the world is what it is even when no one is around to make any judgments about it. The world was like it is before we were born and it will be that way when we leave.

    Our problem is that we have to get our bruised egos off the stage of our lives.  Our egos are always in rebellion against the spirit of peace by which many of us want to live. Our fragile egos are always preaching to our peace, "No, this is the way life has to be for me to be happy!"  The world, with its teaming populations and rapid changes has no united consciousness.   It does not care what we think or how we feel about anything that is happening.

    I served with my father for twelve years as an Associate Pastor.  He was a marvelous pastor and teacher to his congregation. Among the numerous things he taught me was this:  "It is very easy to be successful in any church.  All you have to do is show up and love your people in as many ways as your imagination will allow."

    After numerous years of my practicing this teaching, my District Superintendent indicated that the Bishop and Cabinet wanted me to leave Capitol Hill and be reassigned to St. Matthew's in Bowie, Maryland.  When this news spread among my colleagues, a number of them called me from all over the Conference.  They had the same message.  "Dick, do you know that St. Matthew's is a truly evil congregation?  They chew up and spit out their pastors one after the other.  Do not consent to go there.  You and Lois will be miserable."

    Lois and I met with their Pastor-Parish Relations Committee, the same way that we met with a number of you.   There was a woman in the group that did not take her eyes off of me during the meeting.  She appeared to be scrutinizing my body language during the proceedings.  When it came to the question and answer period she asked, "What made you want to come to St. Matthew's and what makes you think that you can meet our needs?" 

    I responded, "I did not choose to come here. I am being appointed by the Cabinet even though I had said, "NO!" to this appointment.  Well . . . I thought my District Superintendent would fall out of his chair.  My response, while honest, was not what I was supposed to say politically. My comment created an awkward moment.  Not many questions were asked after my undiplomatic response.

    The meeting concluded and I was appointed to be their pastor for the next fifteen years until my retirement.  During those fifteen years, there was not the slightest undercurrent or problem. I have no idea what my colleagues were referring to with all their dire warnings. The church grew because our people invited others to join them on Sunday mornings.

    It is our choice to evaluate and define how we respond to what shows up in our lives.  Everything is relative and has no value until we assign one.  Depending on where we are anchored, either our egos or our loving spirits will respond.

    Ultimately, it does not matter how others verbally treat us.  It does not matter who has cheated us.  It does not matter if someone gossips about us. It does not matter if people vehemently disagree with us.  Such people are only revealing who they are and nothing more. Their responses to us reflect what is going on inside of them.   We are the ones who make these things matter. 

    When the responses of other people hurt us, it is we who are choosing to drag our anchors across the bottom.  Living with a peaceful spirit means to show up in every circumstance with no agenda and no judgments while extending light just like a lighthouse during the calm and also during the hurricanes. 

    Jesus was committed to teaching his message regardless of whether or not anyone understood what he said, whether they agreed with him or not, or even if anyone cared about the realm of spirit to which all of us eventually return. Jesus understood what happens to words spoken by any teacher.  He could not control what other people ignore or absorb.  He illustrated this in his parable where a farmer sowed seeds that fell on different qualities of soil.   (Mark 4:13f)        

    He offered everyone the keys to the Kingdom. Accepting those keys was and is our choice to make. No one else can accept them for us.  With all the responses we make during the average day, it does not hurt for us to ask ourselves just where our ships are anchored.